I would look at the F250 with a 6.2 gas. My wife tows a 3 horse slant gooseneck, she traded from an 01 with 7.3 to an 2011 with the 6.2 last year. It gets comparable mileage and tows better than the old diesel did. She hauled 3 horses to Georgia and back last spring and said it did great through the mountains.

Diesels are nice , but a lot of cost associated with them , as already mentioned filters , fuel additive, oil changes way more than a gasser ,plugging in when bone cold. The other problem with em is all the emissions stuff that decreases mpg but will also be another expense as truck gets older , One has to determine how long you plan to keep it as warranty is great but it costs, bottom line your either making payments or have repair bills, I have 3 F550 power strokes, which are necessary for what I pull I need the torque and need that chassis to be legal, I ran a 1 ton dually as a personal truck another power stroke, but really a pain when it's cold like leaving at airport for a few days one year hunting out of town i was hesitant to shut off at night - 15 I didn't want to un gel a truck instead of deer hunting. Just bought the wife a new f250 I went gas 6.2 l she pulls a 30 ft gooseneck horse trailer and has no problems gets about 12 mpg . She's made 3 trips to Texas with it and loves it, One thing to consider is with a 3/4 ton is it won't ever ride as good as a half ton, however you have a lot better brakes, stronger tranny, rear end , driveshaft etc. If you're planning on pulling a lot go diesel 3/4 ton or bigger if you're spending most your time driving empty just rolling smoke IMO the juice is not worth the squeeze

The camper we will be pulling all over the US (not just Iowa) weighs around 5600 lbs dry without gear. Its 29 feet long.... My half ton (3.5 Ecoboost) I am not concerned with the pulling power of the truck, but as someone mentioned earlier, I get more worried about GVWR and GCWR with it. Half tons dont have a ton of wiggle room to play with after I looked at all my specs, thats my main concern about switching to a heavier duty truck. I take in the account of it will pry be "safer" to upgrade to a more suited truck to handle it. Heck, the wifes first 3 trips planned with the camper are 4+ hours away..

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I would go diesel hands down pulling a camper that heavy more than to the local campground. I would go airbags and an engine break is amazing. I prefer my pre def 07 Classic LBZ personally and it has the same hp as a new vortec 6.0 but twice the torque. I get 15mpg on avg. My dad has a 6.7 Cummins that's awesome as well with airbags and an engine break. I have airbags which is huge but no engine break. He gets 18mpg +. Remember a diesel with def is not designed for short trips on a regular basis. Takes some hwy time to regen on a regular basis although it sounds like that may not be an issue.

I would go diesel hands down pulling a camper that heavy more than to the local campground. I would go airbags and an engine break is amazing. I prefer my pre def 07 Classic LBZ personally and it has the same hp as a new vortec 6.0 but twice the torque. I get 15mpg on avg. My dad has a 6.7 Cummins that's awesome as well with airbags and an engine break. I have airbags which is huge but no engine break. He gets 18mpg +. Remember a diesel with def is not designed for short trips on a regular basis. Takes some hwy time to regen on a regular basis although it sounds like that may not be an issue.

Yes I am serious. My camper is just over 6000# and in traffic it saves a ton on brakes and shifting. I wouldn't pull that much weight far or often with a half ton truck. That is not what it's made for.

I've owned multiple 1/2 and 3/4 ton trucks over the years and just bought my first Diesel pickup a year ago - a 2108 Chevy Duramax.
Average mileage over the life of the truck with my 6.0L 3/4 ton gas was about 12.5 - peak mileage was about 18
Average mileage so far on my Diesel is closer to 18 - peak mileage has been over 28 with lots of trips averaging in the 22-24 range.
I have not chipped or altered it in any way from factory - it just does really well on fuel on longer trips - more like 14-16 on short trips to the grocery store or treestand.
Pulling power is far better with the diesel, the gas 6.0 would pull our 32' camper just fine but it shifted a lot and the motor ran in lower gears a lot.
Seems like the diesel rarely down-shifts - it just does it without complaint and fuel mileage doesnt drop nearly as bad with a trailer hooked on as it did with gas.
I think I am hooked - pretty much guarantee my next pickup will be another diesel